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He said in one of his blog posts a while ago actually.
He confirmed that he was writing it (not alone though, right?) and he concluded with something like "looks like I'll be releasing a book in 2018, maybe 2, a man can dream", so I concluded that he was pretty confident that he'd finish this by the year.

Let's hope this gave him the push to write TWOW too, I like his fake histories but I don't really feel the need to read them if the main stories don't come out.

Fire and Blood will be exclusively written by George. In fact, most of the stuff has been written long ago while he was producing material for TWoIaF.

The only section that was missing that really prevented a publication was a detailed account of the reign of the Old King, Jaehaerys I. George didn't produce much more on them than what we read in TWoIaF. Perhaps there is going to be some additional stuff on the Targaryens in Valyria and on Dragonstone, but if not then the book will consist of the following texts, according to Ran:

The Conquest (already published in TWoIaF)

The Dragon (reign of Aegon I)

The Sons of the Dragons (reigns of Kings Aenys and Maegor)

unknown text on Jaehaerys I and Alysanne

The Heirs of the Dragon (reign of Viserys I)

The Death of the Dragons (the Dance)

text on the Regency of the minor King Aegon III which title escapes me right now.

It couldn't have taken George much time to write his piece on Jaehaerys I (and invent some more stuff about more ancient Targaryens) unless we assume it causes a massive writer's block for him to think about the Old King and the Good Queen - which is a silly idea. There wouldn't be much tantalizing plot there, anyway, just prosperity and success, perhaps minced with a little bit of intrigue, ambition, and (court) rivalry, especially in the later years of the man's reign.

There wouldn't have been any ugly conflicts or wars. One should be able to write a piece like that in, you know, a fortnight, or perhaps in a month.

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@Lord Varys Are you already aware of, if you and your team will make any and if so, how many reductions in the german edition (like in the german edition of TWOIAF)?

I assume you refer to redactions that lead to less content in the translated edition due to the inability (or incompetence) of the publishers to change the layout of TWoIaF as to actually create enough space to fit the entire text on each page?

If so, then I'm under the impression that 'Fire and Blood' is not going to contain all that much art (if any) and I'm going to do my best to ensure that no content goes missing.

If we had a TWoIaF-like book here then the approximated 800 pages would certainly not be enough if we had as much art in that book as we got in TWoIaF.

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Since we now know that we are going to get that book after all - or rather the first half of the material that was mostly written years ago, stretching from the reign of the Conqueror to the Regency of the Dragonbane - and much sooner than we thought, the question is what you are looking forward the most in that book.

For me it would be the newly written account of the reign of the Old King that has to be in there for the book to actually qualify as a history book. And then there is the complete history of the Dance, of course, and the Regency of Aegon III, a period about which no pretty much nothing but which is supposed to be very interesting and very detailed.

Perhaps the reference to Valyria in the enigmatic blog post indicates that we'll learn more about the Freehold of Valyria and the Targaryens back then, either through some brief prelude or opaque references to more ancient Targaryens in the text. Nobody would complain about that.

The most interesting new aspects of the book should be the detailed stories of the children of the Old King, the whereabouts of the twin daughters of Aegon and Rhaena, and the ultimate fate of their mother. And then there are, of course, the dragons, and details about the reign of Jaehaerys and Alysanne - the First Quarrel, Alyssa Velaryon and the Baratheons, and the Great Council.

This should be a great read indeed.

Tough call. Beyond the unexpected. I'm hoping for more on Rhaenys and her role in the triumvirate of Conquerors. particularly her relationship with Visenya. The Dornish Letter and anything that might shed some light on my tinfoil about Rhaegar's "silver" harp strings.

Some more on the early conflicts with the Faith of the Seven, the burning of the Sept of Remembrance, and the eventual reconciliation.

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I keep hoping against hope that, miraculously, GRRM hit a great writing streak and found himself going past the page limit, and he and his editor's deciding to publish it in two volumes: The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. BOOM! Done!

A girl can dream...

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My personal giveafuckometer is a hard zero. If it had been a Dunk and Egg story I'd have been mildly interested, but I really couldn't give a toss about a load of history with a load of characters I am not at all emotionally invested in. Especially as this has been yet another project that has delayed TWOW from being completed. Actually who I am I trying to fool? TWOW is clearly never going to be completed.

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My personal giveafuckometer is a hard zero. If it had been a Dunk and Egg story I'd have been mildly interested, but I really couldn't give a toss about a load of history with a load of characters I am not at all emotionally invested in. Especially as this has been yet another project that has delayed TWOW from being completed. Actually who I am I trying to fool? TWOW is clearly never going to be completed.

It's already finished, he'll release it after the show is done... that's at least the way I get myself to sleep every night. But yeah, I don't really care about mostly already known histories of kings two centuries ago.

I really enjoyed Dunk & Egg so that would also be great but damn George, just release the book.

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Happy to see Martin has cashed in on yet another side project while pushing AWoW to the back burner. At this point I expect Martin to publish a book on why AWoW took so long before the actual volume hits the shelves. Any who, i don't care for histories, map collections or future tv products. The Martin account at the Iron Bank hasn't gotten a dime from me in a long time and certainly won't for Fire & Blood either. Some advice...finish ASoI&F while anyone still cares.

Edited April 25, 2018 by Valyrian_steel_2.0

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I keep hoping against hope that, miraculously, GRRM hit a great writing streak and found himself going past the page limit, and he and his editor's deciding to publish it in two volumes: The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. BOOM! Done!

A girl can dream...

Agree. Hope that it happens, but doubt that it will happen. If GRMM finishes before 2020 will be a miracle.

1 hour ago, Ser Gareth said:

My personal giveafuckometer is a hard zero. If it had been a Dunk and Egg story I'd have been mildly interested, but I really couldn't give a toss about a load of history with a load of characters I am not at all emotionally invested in. Especially as this has been yet another project that has delayed TWOW from being completed. Actually who I am I trying to fool? TWOW is clearly never going to be completed.

Agree. I actually like the worldbuilding. But I want GRMM to finish the novels and develop the other houses of Westeros. If we get an answer on the Doom of Valyria than I would be ok with it.

37 minutes ago, Deepbollywood Motte said:

It's already finished, he'll release it after the show is done... that's at least the way I get myself to sleep every night. But yeah, I don't really care about mostly already known histories of kings two centuries ago.

I really enjoyed Dunk & Egg so that would also be great but damn George, just release the book.

Agree. And also would like another Dunk & Egg book. If only to learn more about the Starks. That is also how I go to sleep at night too.

Just now, Valyrian_steel_2.0 said:

Happy to see Martin has cashed in on yet another side project while pushing AWoW to the back burner. At this point I expect Martin to publish a book on why AWoW took so long before the actual volume hits the shelves. Any who, i don't care for histories, map collections or future tv products. The Martin account at the Iron Bank hasn't gotten a dime from me in a long time and certainly won't for Fire & Blood either. Some advice...finish ASoF&I while anyone still cares.

Agree. I'm not trying to hurry him along, but he should finish the books while the publicity for the tv show is still going. After the show gives us an ending, some people won't be as interested anymore. Strike while the iron is hot.

The thrilling history of the Targaryens comes to life in this masterly work by the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the inspiration for HBO’s Game of Thrones.

With all the fire and fury fans have come to expect from internationally bestselling author George R. R. Martin, this is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros.

Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.

What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed.

With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,Fire and Blood is the ultimate game of thrones, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.

--------------------------------------------------------

From Edelweiss catalog:

Quote

- BRAND-NEW CONTENT FROM THE GAME OF THRONES UNIVERSE: This comprehensive history, straight from the mind and pen of George R.R. Martin, showcases the Targaryen family and their rise to power.
- 70% NEW MATERIAL: Although some elements of this history have been published elsewhere, the vast majority has never been seen before.
- MORE THAN 80 ORIGINAL BLACK-AND-WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS BY ARTIST DOUG WHEATLEY
- FULL-COLOR ENDPAPERS
- GRRM-BRANDED PACKAGING: Cover design reflects the packaging for Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, providing a clear visual link for readers.

Edited April 25, 2018 by Jussi

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My level of interest here is near zero. I already know that the Targaryens fail, everyone dies but Dany and all the dragons die. I don't find this very compelling for a back story. I certainly don't find it compelling when the main story is not yet finished.

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Happy to see Martin has cashed in on yet another side project while pushing AWoW to the back burner. At this point I expect Martin to publish a book on why AWoW took so long before the actual volume hits the shelves. Any who, i don't care for histories, map collections or future tv products.